Tight End Dynasty Rankings - Fantasy Football Tiers and Draft Analysis

Fantasy football general managers do not build their dynasty league rosters and fantasy futures around the tight end position.

Sure, tight ends are more important than kickers, defenses, and backups at the other skilled positions, but they take a back seat to quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. This does not mean tight ends should be downplayed in dynasty formats, though. Having Kansas City’s Travis Kelce or Baltimore’s Mark Andrews as your tight end gives you an automatic advantage every week over opponents who use lesser-talented tight ends. If you acquire a young tight end who becomes a cornerstone of your fantasy franchise, then you are set for several seasons in a dynasty league.

RotoBaller has ranked tight ends for the upcoming 2022 NFL campaign, so fantasy players can get a head start on their dynasty prep!  Here is a look at RotoBaller’s 2022 tight end fantasy football rankings for dynasty leagues, along with my analysis.

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Fantasy Football Dynasty Rankings - Tight End

Tier 1 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

You could look negatively at Pitts. No Matt Ryan. No Calvin Ridley. No supporting cast to take distract defenses from keying on him. The young phenom has a lot going against him. But Pitts was able to score a 1,000-yard year without Ridley riding shotgun with him for most of 2021, and he did it in his rookie campaign. No tight end in the NFL has the fantasy upside he has. He is only going to get better. Pitts should have 1,000 yards per year for the next 10-15 years.

We all know what Kelce has done. He has six straight seasons of at least 80 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards. We also know that Patrick Mahomes is still throwing to him and Andy Reid and his staff is still orchestrating the offense around him. What we do not know is how Kelce will do without greyhound Tyreek Hill tying up safeties so Kelce can do his damage over the middle. Unless the risky receivers Kansas City signed during the offseason fill the void left behind by Hill, Kelce's stats might take a slight hit in 2022.

All Andrews did in 2021 was lead tight ends in receptions, targets, and receiving yards while tying for tops at the position in touchdowns. Now that “Hollywood” Brown is in Arizona, Andrews is undoubtedly Lamar Jackson’s top target. Fantasy managers have to hope the rest of the Ravens receivers are decent enough to keep Andrews from getting constantly triple-teamed.

Kittle has proven he can do fantasy damage without having a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback throwing him the ball, but the jury is out on how well super sophomore Trey Lance is going to do in his first as the full-time starting signal caller in San Fran.  The jury is also out on whether Kittle can stay healthy for 17 games and if he can find more ways to get into the end zone (20 TD over his five seasons). Those two things prevent him from being ranked in the top-three at the position.

Tier 2 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

Waller is in a situation he has not been in the past couple seasons in Vegas. He is no longer Derek Carr’s go-to guy. Carr’s buddy Davante Adams is going to vulture targets and touchdowns that would have been Waller’s in prior years when the Raiders receiving corps was XFL caliber, but he will also allow Waller to be single covered more than he has recently. Do not be surprised to see Las Vegas' top tight end have his third 1,100-yard year in four seasons.

The Detroit Lions did not do much to upgrade their offense this past offseason. That is good news (I guess) for Hockenson, who does not have much competition for targets other than injury-prone tailback D’Andre Swift and newly-acquired DJ Chark, who has an injury history as well.

Goedert is a fantasy force now that he is out of Zach Ertz’s shadow. Even though Jalen Hurts is not a quarterback who upgrades the fantasy values of his pass catchers, Goedert did just fine with him under center in 2021 when he set new career-highs across the board. Goedert cannot be ranked higher here, though, because he is mired in a run-first offense and now has two top wideouts (A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith) who will get as many if not more targets than he does.

Schultz enjoyed a breakout season last year that led to him being franchise tagged. Will he do better or worse now that Dallas’ vaunted receiving corps lost two members in the offseason (Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson) and has another not ready yet due to a torn ACL (Michael Gallup)? This could mean more targets coming Schultz’s way, or it could mean tighter coverage as defenses can focus on him more without those wonderful wideouts on the field.

Freiermuth is trouble to cover around the end zone, hence why he scored six touchdowns over a seven-game span during 2021. He also has extra dynasty stock since he is only in his second season. Two things going against Freiermuth are that he suffered two concussions last season, and that Pittsburgh's quarterback situation is unsettled now that Ben Roethlisberger is retired.

Tier 3 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

Ertz is the senior member of the tier and proved during his short stint with Arizona last year that he has gas left in his tank. He should thrive early on while DeAndre Hopkins is suspended, but it will be interesting how much of a fantasy factor is once the Cardinals have both Hopkins and Marquise Brown together on the field starting in late October.

Kmet’s receptions and yardage meant nothing in 2021 because he failed to score a single touchdown. Even though Chicago’s offense could be just as horrendous in 2022 if Justin Fields does not take a leap forward in his development, I would bet a Powerball ticket or two that Kmet will find the end zone four-to-six times.

Knox has more upward mobility and long-term fantasy value than most tight ends on this list. He and quarterback Josh Allen have built an undeniable chemistry, especially inside the red zone, and Knox’s numbers have steadily increased in each of his three seasons. His average reception and yardage totals are why he is ranked down here, but he could easily be in Tier 2 by season's end if keeps improving.

Tier 4 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

This is the tier where the question marks become larger. How is Gesicki going to have more than five targets per game with Jaylon Waddle, Tyreek Hill, Cedrick Wilson, and Chase Edmonds all needing their targets? How is Fant's fantasy value going to go up if Geno Smith and Drew Lock are his QBs in Seattle? How will Henry stay healthy for a second straight year and continue to score touchdowns in New England's conservative offense?

Why did Cleveland cough up $56 million for Njoku when he has never had 700 yards or five touchdowns in a season? And can Smith Jr. stay on the field after being out all of 2021 and being hurt already in 2022? All five tight ends in this tier are risks, yet all five could bring fantasy rewards if all goes perfectly for them. They are all TE2s that have the ability to be TE1s.

Tier 5 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

Okwuegbunam is exciting because Fant is out of his way and Russell Wilson is throwing to him, so he has been mentioned as a fantasy sleeper by many pundits. Jordan is exciting because Houston will be trailing and passing in most of its games and other than Brandin Cooks, their pass-catching corps is suspect. Hooper has had 600-700 yards before and should be able to again in a Tennessee passing attack that was desperate for a decent tight end.

Besides the aforementioned trio, the other TE that stands out in this tier is Everett. He has never had a 500-yard year in five seasons, but he is coming off the best year of his career and is now in a perfect position with a high-powered Chargers offense who likes to look for its tight ends in the red zone.

Tier 6 - Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

You are really reaching for a tight end this low on the fantasy totem pole. Thomas posted a 72-670-6 line during his breakout 2020 campaign before a season-ending knee injury ruined his 2021. Do not forget about him in 2022, even though his might miss the first game or two.

Tonyan might also be forgotten by fantasy managers after missing most of last season with his own major knee injury, but he hauled in 11 Aaron Rodgers touchdown tosses two years ago and Green Bay's receiving crew no longer has Davante Adams as the linchpin.

Troutman, Tremble, and Jonnu Smith are all tight ends who could surprise if they are just given the chance to shine by their offenses and/or quarterbacks. Do not expect any of them to be the Shannon Sharpe of 2022, though. In fact, do not expect any to mentioned in the same breath with Pitts, Kelce, or Andrews.

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